Special Containment Procedures: SCP-3499 is to be kept in a standard item secure locker at Site-48. It is to remain sheathed and should not be handled without approval from the Site Director.

SCP-3499-1 is to be contained within an urn specifically made for holding ashes at Site-89. This urn should be sealed and kept in a standard item secure locker. Monthly inspections of the urn should be conducted to ensure that it is intact. Replacement urns should be readily available in another locker on the same floor.

SCP-3499 and SCP-3499-1 should not be brought within two kilometers of one another without prior approval from a Site Director.

Description: SCP-3499 is a 14th century dha-shay with a single cutting edge and a leather sheath. The hilt of SCP-3499 is encrusted with topaz and quartz. Neither the sheath nor the sword experience physical degradation.

When a human meeting currently unknown criteria is within immediate proximity to SCP-3499, the sheath will emit visible light. The sword can only be removed from its sheath by those who prompt this response. When activated, SCP-3499 spontaneously alters the body of its wielder to varying and seemingly random degrees. These changes range from simple modifications to significant and complex transformations.

These changes are reversed when the sword is returned to its sheath or the affected person is no longer within SCP-3499's zone of influence (~1048 meters), regardless of how severe the changes are. After the first alteration, affected individuals will have their body altered in the same exact manner whenever they are within SCP-3499's zone of influence and it is active, even if they do not draw and wield the sword themselves. If the wielder expires, neither activation nor deactivation of SCP-3499 will revive them. The only exception to this is SCP-3499-1.

SCP-3499-1 is 3.2 kilograms of cremated ashes. It does not possess any anomalous properties in this form. However, if these ashes are brought within SCP-3499's zone of influence while it is active, they will coalesce into a large avian reptile. It is estimated to be 80 meters in length and 120 meters in wingspan. Its mouth holds a plethora of backward-facing fangs. SCP-3499-1 can release streams of flame in this form that consistently register over 1000 °C and can persist for several minutes.

SCP-3499-1 has demonstrated being capable of tearing and burning through most materials, and is considered significantly difficult to contain in this form. It has been recorded speaking in American English, Vietnamese, and Chinese.

Both SCP-3499 and SCP-3499-1 were recovered from a shrine in Sóc Trăng, Vietnam. The Foundation intercepted reports of a mythical flying creature causing wildfires near the shrine along with other reports of people being inexplicably thrown around by invisible hands within the shrine. Field Personnel approached a male identified as Ông ████, who was carrying an active SCP-3499. He was terminated after attempting to strike at Field Personnel with SCP-3499. Field Personnel were unable to contain SCP-3499-1 until SCP-3499 was sheathed, unintentionally deactivating its anomalous effects. All primary witnesses were administered Class A Amnestics and the damage to the area was explained away as an act of arson where the arsonist was arrested and is currently in custody.

Foreword: It was discovered that Dr. Syeburn was able to generate a response from SCP-3499's sheath. With approval from Site Director Koden, Dr. Syeburn activated SCP-3499 while in a large containment chamber with SCP-3499-1. This was done with the intention of attempting to communicate with SCP-3499-1. No outward change was noted in Dr. Syeburn. SCP-3499-1 proceeded to travel around the whole chamber immediately after transforming, assumedly disoriented from when it had last transformed. Dr. Syeburn confirmed that he did not feel ill and that he did not perceive any anomalous changes to his body. After four minutes, SCP-3499-1 began to speak.

<Begin Log>SCP-3499-1: Where am I?Dr. Syeburn: You are in ██████, China. How do you feel?
<SCP-3499-1 settles directly in front of Dr. Syeburn, dangling its head above him.>SCP-3499-1: I am in the land of invaders?Dr. Syeburn: Sure? I would like to ask you a couple of questions. Is that alright?
<The response is delayed. SCP-3499-1 stares down at Dr. Syeburn without blinking.>SCP-3499-1: You do not look like an invader. I will answer your questions.Dr. Syeburn: … Right. How did you first turn into what you are now?SCP-3499-1: I used a sword.Dr. Syeburn: Great, so you know what it is! So do I! How did it come into your possession?SCP-3499-1: The night before I was to head out and face the foreigners whom had encroached deep into my people's lands, a woman who claimed to be a servant of the Holy Mother of the Realm delivered it to me-Dr. Syeburn: Who is the "Holy Mother of the Realm"?
<Flames briefly flare from SCP-3499-1's nostrils. Dr. Syeburn looks over his shoulder at the room's only exit.>SCP-3499-1: She is the guardian of the border of my people's lands. When invaders come, it is said that she rains down blessings for my people.Dr. Syeburn: Ah… Does she decide who can use the sword, then?SCP-3499-1: Yes. She smiles kindly upon those who are in genuine need of divine intervention.Dr. Syeburn: Okay. Did you specifically choose this form?SCP-3499-1: No. I desired to be undefeatable on the battlefield and this is what I became.Dr. Syeburn: Do you need to eat? Do you age?SCP-3499-1: No.Dr. Syeburn: Well… are you aware of what happens around you when you are not, uh… in this form?
<SCP-3499-1 shifts in place, laying its head down on the floor with a loud exhale.>SCP-3499-1: There is a deep pit where I reside when I am not in this world. I cannot see or hear anything. I cannot do anything except acknowledge myself and the pit… and wait.Dr. Syeburn: … Do you always go to this place when the sword is sheathed?SCP-3499-1: Not at first… my brother… he wanted the bloodshed to stop but refused to fight! He didn't want me to use the Holy Mother's gift because he wanted to make peace with the invaders! When I was chasing the invaders back into their own lands, he stole the sword from my retainer and carried it far enough away that the Holy Mother's will could not reach me…
<SCP-3499-1 trembles. Flames trickle out from both its nostrils and mouth.>SCP-3499-1: I fell from the sky as a man… my body broke and I could not move… and my brother, my own people… they tied me to an altar… called me a demon… after I had saved them all… they set the wood ablaze…
<Dr. Syeburn backs away from SCP-3499-1 as it lifts its head off the floor. Its mouth opens and flames are released against the walls of the room. Dr. Syeburn deactivates SCP-3499, causing SCP-3499-1 to dissipate back into ashes. Dr. Syeburn exits the room with SCP-3499. The flames continue to eat away at the walls, smoke obscuring the camera's view until nothing can be observed.><End Log>

Conclusion: The risk of SCP-3499-1 breaching containment currently outweighs the potential benefits of communicating with it. Further interviews with SCP-3499-1 are suspended indefinitely pending the results of experimentation with SCP-3499.

Addendum: Dr. Syeburn, a researcher with a Ph.D. in Anatomy, was tasked with investigating SCP-3499's anomalous properties and determine the link between SCP-3499 and SCP-3499-1. Test subjects were all individuals who were able to activate SCP-3499. Dr. Syeburn himself was able to activate SCP-3499 but did not express any anomalous properties after the initial activation. He was observed throughout his investigation.

Trial #001Subject: D-938Procedure: Determine how much influence a subject has over what changes SCP-3499 makes to their body. Subject is instructed to desire to be more intelligent.Results: Subject reports a headache after activating SCP-3499, and then experiences a bloody nose. Subject claws at his face with enough force to draw blood before collapsing. A physician enters the room and reports that the subject has expired.Notes: "Maybe his brain became too big for his skull. I want an autopsy done immediately." - Dr. Syeburn

Trial #005Subject: D-382Procedure: Determine how much control a subject has over how SCP-3499 changes them. Subject is instructed to concentrate on having a thousand dollars in his hands.Results: Subject states that his hands ache. Two seconds later, an assortment of coins spontaneously push out of the subject's hands. Subject falls against a wall as his hands are completely removed from his wrists by the coins. Site Personnel enter the room to assist him. Bloody coins pour out of subject's arms continuously until SCP-3499 is deactivated. All the coins vanish. Subject expires.Notes: "It must perceive the wielder's desires literally. We can work with that." - Dr. Syeburn

Trial #023Subject: D-194Procedure: Assess whether or not SCP-3499's effects can extend beyond the wielder. Subject is instructed to wish for the air in the room to smell sweet.Results: Subject reports that they do not smell anything. After three minutes of inactivity, the subject places her hands on her ears. Subject requests that Site Personnel stop shouting at her. No shouting from Site Personnel is recorded. Subject repeats her request while slamming her head against the floor. Site Personnel intervene and restrain her. Subject struggles for eight seconds before she stops responding. A physician determines that the subject has expired.Notes: "Potential cognitohazard. SCP-3499 can only affect the wielder." - Dr. Syeburn

Trial #055Subject: D-108Procedure: Investigate how greatly SCP-3499 can change the wielder's body. Subject is instructed to wish that they could be a child again.Results: Subject transforms into a child that vaguely resembles his adult form. Upon being asked to deactivate SCP-3499, the subject states that he does not know where he is or why he is here. Site Personnel enter the room and deactivate SCP-3499, returning the subject to his previous state. He claims to not recall anything that occurred while SCP-3499 had been active.Notes: "This is evidence of reality-bending. Now we just have to understand it." - Dr. Syeburn

Trial #056Subject: D-108Procedure: Determine whether or not the effects of SCP-3499 can be undone. Subject is instructed to activate and deactivate SCP-3499 repeatedly.Results: Subject performs 28 activations in a row before reporting that he heard people shouting at him. No shouting is recorded. Subject claims that the shouting is persisting even after he deactivates SCP-3499. Site Personnel intervene when the subject begins to convulse on the floor. Expiration occurs after fifteen seconds.Notes: "I'm not sure where to go from here." - Dr. Syeburn

Trial #108Subject: D-538Procedure: Discover what exactly SCP-3499 uses within a subject's mind as the basis for its anomalous effects. Subject is instructed to activate SCP-3499 and think of nothing in particular.Results: Subject reports no change. No anomalous activity is observed for two minutes. Subject grips at her abdomen suddenly before collapsing. She does not respond to Site Personnel who come to her aid and expires. An impromptu autopsy is ordered by Dr. Syeburn while SCP-3499 remains active. It is revealed that the subject's entire uterus is missing.Notes: N/A

Foreword: Dr. Syeburn advocated for a second interview with SCP-3499-1. Tentative approval was given by Site Director Koden with the condition that Dr. Syeburn focus on determining the true nature of SCP-3499's cognitohazard and reality bending properties. When Dr. Syeburn prompted SCP-3499-1's transformation by activating SCP-3499, it appeared to recognize the room and did not move off of the floor.

<Begin Log>Dr. Syeburn: Alright, I have some more questions for you-SCP-3499-1: I want to leave.Dr. Syeburn: We can discuss that after you've answered some questions.
<Silence is observed for thirteen seconds.>Dr. Syeburn: Are the changes made by the sword to the wielder random?SCP-3499-1: No.Dr. Syeburn: How does it decide?SCP-3499-1: It doesn't.Dr. Syeburn: I am inclined to believe that you're not being entirely forthcoming.
<SCP-3499-1 shifts until it is lying on its side.>SCP-3499-1: The Holy Mother of the Realm looks into your soul when you wield her sword. She chooses whichever dream or desire that pleases her the most to turn into a reality. The sword only provides the life energy needed to make that possible.Dr. Syeburn: … What is "life energy"?SCP-3499-1: It is the fuel upon which one's soul exists. The sword contains this fuel from people that have been slain with it.Dr. Syeburn: … As in… stabbed by the sword?SCP-3499-1: There are many ways to be killed by a sword, but yes. The life energy of those who are chosen by the Holy Mother also end up inside of the sword after they die.Dr. Syeburn: Wait! Can the Holy Mother kill the 'chosen people' at any time?SCP-3499-1: Yes.
<Dr. Syeburn stares down at SCP-3499 silently. SCP-3499-1 shifts again and prods at Dr. Syeburn with its head.>SCP-3499-1: Those who are taken into the sword remain conscious and are sent into the pit. They scream for help, but no one comes for them, so they keep screaming until all of their life energy has been used up.Dr. Syeburn: Y-You're lying! You said before that you can't hear or do anything in there!SCP-3499-1: Yes. I lied to make sure that you would feed the sword and sustain my immortality.Dr. Syeburn: … then… why was I chosen? Nothing happened to me when I held the sword!
<SCP-3499-1 opens its mouth, seemingly mimicking a smile.>SCP-3499-1: The Holy Mother tends to choose those who are fated to die soon, so perhaps she decided that leaving your body untouched was the best way to extend your lifespan and introduce the sword to more candidates. Though, maybe you're just a weak, boring man with no aspirations-
<Dr. Syeburn sheathes the sword, deactivating SCP-3499.>Dr. Syeburn: You do not scare me! You're a relic of the past! You're powerless!
<SCP-3499-1 begins to fall apart. As it returns to a pile of ashes, a hoarse laugh is emanated from its' throat.>Dr. Syeburn: Fuck your Holy Mother! I will not allow anyone else to use this sword or speak to you! Mark my words!
<SCP-3499-1 completely reverts. Dr. Syeburn moves toward the room's exit before freezing just before grabbing the exit handle.>Dr. Syeburn: … No…
<SCP-3499 is dropped. Dr. Syeburn holds his head as he stumbles away from the exit and falls over.>Dr. Syeburn: Stop, please! I didn't mean it! STOP!
<Site Personnel move in. A physician begins to administer a tranquilizer. Dr. Syeburn does not appear to be affected by it.>Dr. Syeburn: STOP THE SCREAMING STOP THE SCREAMING STOP SCREAMING STOP… scream… stopssssssss…
<Dr. Syeburn becomes unresponsive. The physician reports that he has expired. At no point was the screaming from anyone besides Dr. Syeburn recorded.><End Log>

Conclusion: Activation of SCP-3499 is prohibited indefinitely. SCP-3499 and SCP-3499-1 are to remain separated even when both are in their inert states.